For the first time in decades, the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) will be cancelled this year. While the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has yet to officially announce the event’s cancellation, multiple sources indicate that E3 2020 will no longer push though, in large part due to the ongoing COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
Sources that said E3 2020 will be cancelled include Devolver Digital, various online publications such as Ars Technica and Gamespot, as well as industry insiders such as Mike Futter and Jason Schreier.
Cancel your E3 flights and hotels, y’all.
— Devolver Digital (@devolverdigital) March 11, 2020
https://twitter.com/Futterish/status/1237547090110111744?s=19
Heard from two people that E3 cancellation will be announced tomorrow AM (both secondhand), and one person w/ ESA ties who insists that it won't be. Normally I sit on conflicting info until I sort out what's true, but with E3 rumors now everywhere, figured I'd be transparent here
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) March 11, 2020
According to various reports and/or tweets, the ESA will formally announce the cancellation or postponement of E3 2020 tomorrow morning (in the USA). If the ESA does formally announce that the convention will not push through this June, E3 will be the latest (and argubaly the biggest) major video game event to be disrupted due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Other events that were postponed or cancelled include the Game Developers Conference, SXSW 2020, and a slew of regional/international esports tournaments.
While the coronavirus is thought of as the main reason for the event’s cancellation, sources speculate that various other factors also contributed to the decision. These factors include the fact that PlayStation announced that it will not attend the event for the second year in a row, as well as Geoff Keighley’s decision to also skip the expo.